Also known as: known or used · prior art · public use
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory bar to patentability that arises when the claimed invention was known or used by others in this country before the applicant's invention date. The knowledge or use must come from someone other than the inventor. This prior knowledge defeats novelty under the first-to-invent regime of section 102(a).
Kinetic Solutions developed a new chemical process. A government program later required the company to surrender a portion of its output to a federal warehouse. Kinetic Solutions argued that the forced transfer constituted an uncompensated taking. The court examined whether the process had been known or used by others before the company's invention date to determine if the company held a valid patent right subject to the Takings Clause.
Kestrel Aviation claimed a manufacturing method as a trade secret. A competitor argued the method had been known or used by others in the industry before Kestrel's claimed invention date. The court applied the Kewanee framework and held that the prior knowledge barred patentability, leaving only trade-secret protection available.
Kingdom Manufacturing filed a patent application for an improved tractor hitch. An examiner found that farmers in several states had known or used a similar hitch configuration before the inventor's date. The court relied on the Graham framework to treat that knowledge as section 102(a) prior art that rendered the claim unpatentable.
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Kraken Shipping sought a patent on a hedging method for fuel costs. Evidence showed that similar risk-management techniques had been known or used by others in the shipping industry before the filing date. The court applied the Bilski analysis and concluded that the prior knowledge defeated novelty under section 102(a).
Kira Kapoor designed a new boat hull. A rival manufacturer proved that the same hull shape had been known or used by others in the recreational-boating market before Kapoor's invention date. The court followed Bonito Boats and held that the prior knowledge barred patent protection and preempted state-law claims.
No. The phrase limits prior art to knowledge or use by persons other than the inventor. An inventor's own secret use does not create a section 102(a) bar against the inventor.
Section 102(a) focuses on knowledge or use by others before the invention date and is limited to this country. Section 102(b) bars public use or sale more than one year before the U.S. filing date regardless of who engaged in the use.
Yes. The statute does not require widespread dissemination. Knowledge conveyed to even one person other than the inventor before the invention date can constitute prior art under section 102(a).
No. The America Invents Act replaced the first-to-invent framework with a first-inventor-to-file system whose section 102(a)(1) uses broader categories of prior art that are no longer limited to knowledge or use by others in this country.
…or discovery. In 1836 the requirement that the invention be "not known or used before the application" was changed to "not known or used by others before the application" and the "useful" requirement was retained. In 1870 the requirement of "not known or used by others" was changed to "not known or used by others in this country" and…